A Heart Full of Love
by broadwaylia
Summary: A prequel to my previous Clintasha story, A Little Fall of Rain. Clint takes Natasha to see the musical Les Miserables. Set post-movie. Rated T for language. This time done in chapters!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: So here's part one of A Heart Full of Love. It can be seen as a sort of prequel to my previous story, A Little Fall of Rain, or read on its own. It will tell the story of why Les Miserables quotes have such meaning between Clint and Natasha. This is set post-movie but before A Little Fall of Rain. As I'm a fairly new writer, I apologize in advance for any mistakes I've made, and if you would like to give me some constructive criticism that would be totally awesome. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

"Why the fuck would anybody want to see a musical where everybody dies?"

Clint sighed. Ever since Natasha had discovered multiple cast recordings of Les Miserables on his iPod this morning she had been pestering him about it. "I don't know, Nat! The music-"

"Yes, we know you like the music, clearly. But the plot-"

"You wouldn't understand it unless you saw it!"

"That's a stupid excuse!"

Clint paused, then suddenly began laughing. "We are fighting over a musical," he managed.

This stopped Natasha in her tracks as she realized how silly they were both being, and joined him in laughing.

As they both flopped down on the sofa, out of breath, Clint got an idea.

"Nat- How about we settle this. Wanna come see Les Miserables with me?"

Her eyes lit up. "How do you know it's playing?"

Clint smirked at her. "We're in New York. Ever heard of Broadway?"

* * *

_to be continued_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I hope you guys are liking this story... If you are, why not write a review to let me know? ;D And if not, write a review to tell me why! Happy reading!

* * *

Clint returned at seven that evening with two tickets to the eight PM show. Natasha was fairly surprised, but less so when Clint admitted he had done a rather large amount of string-pulling.

"You've only left me forty-five minutes to get ready," she complained.

Clint was already halfway out the door of the lounge to get cleaned up, but he turned around. "I'm sure you'll manage."

Forty-one minutes later Clint emerged from his room. Freshly showered and shaved, he had swapped out his signature leather jacket for a black blazer over a white button-down and black tie. Checking his watch, he decided he probably had exactly four minutes until Natasha emerged from her room. He made his way over to the lounge of the Avengers tower to wait.

Exactly four minutes later Natasha stepped into the room. The sudden sound of her heels clicking on the floor made him jump nearly out of his skin, but the sight of his partner made him even more nervous. She wore a red sleeveless dress that was only second in vibrance to her hair. It fell to just above her knees, and was revealing enough to make Clint's head spin.

He took a calming breath. "You look... Nice."

She smirked, clearly amused by the effect she was having. "Let's go, bird boy. We have fifteen minutes to get to the theatre."

Clint insisted he drive, and for once Natasha actually agreed.

* * *

_to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yay Chapter 3! I promise I proofread this one more thoroughly, and it's longer too! Also, if you haven't listen to/seen Les Miserables yet, I highly recommend you do. It will help you to understand this, though it's not necessary. If you're really confused, see my note at the bottom. Happy reading!

* * *

They arrived at the theatre with a couple minutes to spare and quickly slipped into their seats in the first balcony. Just as they settled in, the lights dimmed and a voice kindly informed the audience of the exits around the theatre (which both Clint and Natasha had been aware of as soon as they'd entered).

The overture began, and Jean Valjean and the prisoners entered. Clint looked over at Natasha to see she was completely enthralled. He smiled slightly and turned back to the show.

When the Priest forgave Jean Valjean for his crimes, Natasha leaned over in her seat. "Just like us," she whispered to Clint.

"Mmhm. Except without the God bit."

"Definitely without the God bit," she agreed.

They watched as Jean Valjean became a new man, and Natasha couldn't help but think of the parallels to her and Clint. Clint, however, knew how Jean Valjean's story ended, and therefore saw far fewer similarities.

From there, though, the pair did not talk much. They were both thoroughly enveloped in the spectacle unfolding before them. They watched as Fantine's dreams, and finally her life, abandoned her. As Fantine sang her last note, Natasha muttered, "Stupid plot."

_Natasha's holding up fairly well,_ Clint thought, _if that's all she's feeling so far._

However, the moment Cosette stepped onstage for "Castle on a Cloud," Natasha tensed.

As the little girl sung her heart out, Clint turned to look at Natasha, who, to his surprise, had a single tear gliding down her cheek. Fully prepared to be beaten up, he took Natasha's hand in his, squeezing it gently for comfort. Natasha, to his further shock, turned and gave him a thankful smile.

_Well,_ Clint thought, _that went better than expected._

Luckily, "Master of the House" had everyone smiling and laughing again, and the mood was lightened significantly.

Natasha did not let go of his hand.

The rest of the first act was mostly uneventful, though Natasha gripped his hand a bit more tightly for "In My Life" and "A Heart Full of Love," and she was on the edge of her seat for the musical masterpiece that was "One Day More."

However, when the lights rose for intermission, she practically leapt out of her seat. Clint briefly considered following her, but decided for his own safety to stay and see if he could find where all of the lights and speakers were instead.

* * *

A/N: So I'm sure many of you aren't familiar with Les Miserables, though you really should be. Look it up on YouTube. Please?

Fine. If you're that determined not to see one of the best musicals of all time, I'll give you a short explanation of each of the more relevant parts we've seen so far.

Jean Valjean was in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's children. He, and many others, were forced to do hard labor. In the beginning of the musical we see him get released on parole. However, he cannot get good work because of the social stigmas surrounding being a convict. A kind priest lets him stay for the night, but Valjean steals his silver candlesticks. The police catch him, but the priest insists that he gave the candlesticks to Jean Valjean as a gift. When the police leave, the priest makes Jean Valjean swear that he will become an honest man. Natasha notices the parallel between the priest/Jean Valjean and her/Clint.

Cosette is a young girl who lives with an innkeeper and his wife. Her mother is Fantine who could not afford to keep her. The innkeeper and his wife are very cruel to her, and basically force her to be their slave. The song "Castle on a Cloud" is about Cosette's dreams of a peaceful place where "crying at all is not allowed."

The song "Master of the House" is basically the innkeeper and his wife comically revealing what scumbags they are.

"In My Life" and "A Heart Full of Love" are love songs between a now grown Cosette and a young man named Marius.

"One Day More" kind of defies explanation. Just go listen to it, or at least read the lyrics.

Sorry if this is a lousy explanation of Les Miserables. I don't want to bore you, so I'm just giving you the most relevant bits to the story.


End file.
